Pre-E3 2009: Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online First Look

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The king of golf is making his way to your computer.

By Nate Ahearn

If you used to enjoy Tiger Woods golf on your PC then you've no doubt realized that El Tigre has taken a sabbatical over the last few seasons (since Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07). Now Tiger Woods is back and looks to be better than ever with Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online, a PC and Mac exclusive that every golf fan should be able to enjoy, regardless of the specs of their computer.

When sitting down to talk to EA about their new PC golfing venture, it really seems like they're trying to bring the casual attitude that some companies (EA included) bring to Wii development and apply them to personal computing. Tiger Woods Online (TWO for short) has no disc, no install (less a small web player), and no additional peripheral. It's all run through a standard web browser. The game can either be played in a standard browser window - so you can easily alt-tab to your work while in a business meeting - or in full-screen mode.

When the game ships this fall you'll be able to whack the ball around on three courses: St. Andrews, TPC Sawgrass and Pebble Beach. EA plans to release additional courses each month after release, though the consistency of those releases depends on how well the product sells.

Tiger Woods Online running in full-screen mode.

The price point is still something that's up in the air. EA assured me that golf fans would be able to enjoy some rendition of Tiger Woods Online free of charge, but there will be a "multi-tiered subscription" service though there's no indication of exactly what the multiple price points will be.

Likely the most interesting aspect of Tiger Woods Online - or at least for all the MySpace and Facebook gurus out there - is the social networking portion of the program. Players will have access to a Tiger Woods Online hub website where they'll be able to setup a friends list, check their friends' notifications, update their pals on tournament happenings (read: bragging), and let their friends know that it's their turn to take a shot. See, since Tiger Woods Online is meant to be an easy and quick distraction at work or in the airport, you'll be able to stop playing at any time and return to your round whenever you feel like it. Notifications that you send to your friends will be displayed on their Tiger Woods Online hub page and they'll also pop up in-game.

On the course you'll be able to create your own golfer and build his attributes through a typical career mode setup. Throughout your career you'll clear objectives and milestones for your golfer and, as you earn in-game cash through tournaments, you'll be able to invest in new equipment at the pro shop.

Tiger Woods Online running a browser on a Mac.

You'll also be able to play as the man himself, Tiger Woods, but only when you're playing in an exhibition match. When you are on the links, regardless of mode, you'll be using the tried and true PC golf mechanics of either three-click or TruSwing.

As I mentioned earlier, the game is designed to run on both high-end and low-end systems and the Tiger Online will auto-detect what visual settings best fit your rig. While it's unlikely that the graphics you'll see on the screen will approach what you get out of your PS3 or Xbox 360, the visuals that I saw looked solid nonetheless.

One of my favorite aspects of Tiger Woods Online is that, since the game is all server-based, EA Sports can cater the experience to what users want. They'll be taking feedback through the summer when they'll be holding a closed beta to assess demand for things like simultaneous play which is a feature that may or may not make the day-one launch depending on how important it is to users.